Wednesday, January 23, 2013

French Twitter Lawsuit: release the names!

A French Jewish organization has filed a lawsuit against twitter asking that they release the names of French people who posted anti-Semitic comments. I thought this incident was worth briefly discussing, because I resided in France for about one year and feel as much a connection to France as I do to Mexico and the United States. I care what happens there.

In brief: the problem is that in France people are not allowed to say something that offends any minority. It is illegal. Brigitte Bardot was fined several times for her comments against Muslims and homosexuals. Typically, the hate is against Jews. I would not be surprised if the people making these anti-semetic tweets were Algerian Muslims. Muslims will shout, "dirty Jew" in the street at any man wearing a yamika.

2 comments:

I can't help thinking that Freedom of Speech is necessary even when we don't like what's said. When I'm bothered by something someone says to/about me I argue back: for one thing it's childish for an adult to go whining to "Mommy" every time somebody says something "mean."

The answer to "Filthy Jew!" is "Berber scum!". Or better yet look at them, show then you despise their childish habit of harassing passersby, and continue on. Getting the Government to punish them only underscores your weakness and vulnerability, and makes it easier for the Government to limit what you can say.

The price of my freedom of speech is that every now and then somebody will yell "Faggot!" at me. It's a small price considering that I have so much of greater value to share.

I too have taken a close interest in French life and culture for many decades. And I concur that antisemitism in France is almost always perpetrated by people who reside in France but are of Moslem ancestry, usually North Africans. The American and Jewish press are dishonest by not revealing this crucial point.

However, this antisemitism has a historical origin. In 1870, a French colonial civil servant in Algeria turned Jewish Algerians (a not insignificant community) into French citizens, at the stroke of a pen. Algerian Moslems did not become French citizens until 1947, and even then, their right to vote was limited. These actions planted the seeds of hatred and enmity in quite a few Berber Moslem hearts. The civil servant who made this fateful mistake was himself Jewish.

The Algerian war of independence, 1947-62, was probably the single bloodiest uprising against European colonial rule. The French army to commit atrocity after atrocity. The ferocity was grounded in the fact that the Mediterranean coast of Algeria was not a colony but an integral part of the French motherland, divided into departments and enjoying parliamentary representation. With one fatal flaw: only people of European or Jewish descent could vote. French apartheid anyone?

COMMENT POLICY: Freedom of Expression is given to those who stand up for what they are saying, not hiding behind anonymity. You must be a registered user, with a link to your Facebook page/ Youtube account/ or other social network where I can verify your identity.

Anonymous People: Your posts will automatically be deleted, and I WILL NOT EVEN READ THEM.